Search and Replace in Database
Safe Search and Replace with WP-CLI
Database search-and-replace is needed when migrating domains, switching from HTTP to HTTPS, or changing URLs. WP-CLI handles serialized data correctly, which is critical for WordPress.
Why Not Just Use SQL?
WordPress stores serialized PHP arrays in the database (e.g., widget settings, theme options). A simple SQL REPLACE breaks serialized data because it changes the string length without updating the length prefix. WP-CLI’s search-replace handles this correctly.
Dry Run First (Always)
sudo wp search-replace "http://old-domain.com" "https://new-domain.com" --dry-run --path=/home/DOMAIN/public_html --allow-rootThis shows exactly how many replacements would be made in each table without changing anything.
Run the Replacement
sudo wp search-replace "http://old-domain.com" "https://new-domain.com" --path=/home/DOMAIN/public_html --allow-rootCommon Use Cases
| Scenario | Old Value | New Value |
|---|---|---|
| Domain change | http://old.com | https://new.com |
| HTTP to HTTPS | http://example.com | https://example.com |
| Staging to production | https://staging.example.com | https://example.com |
| WWW to non-WWW | https://www.example.com | https://example.com |
Useful Flags
# Only search specific tables
sudo wp search-replace "old" "new" wp_posts wp_postmeta --path=$WP --allow-root
# Skip specific tables
sudo wp search-replace "old" "new" --skip-tables=wp_users --path=$WP --allow-root
# Export SQL instead of modifying in place
sudo wp search-replace "old" "new" --export=migration.sql --path=$WP --allow-root
# Case-insensitive (use regex)
sudo wp search-replace "Old-Domain\.com" "new-domain.com" --regex --regex-flags=i --path=$WP --allow-rootAfter Replacement
- Flush the cache:
sudo wp cache flush --path=$WP --allow-root - Flush Redis:
redis-cli FLUSHALL - Clear LSCache:
sudo rm -rf /tmp/lscache/DOMAIN/ - Verify the site loads correctly
- Check for mixed content warnings in the browser console
Backup First
Always backup before search-replace:
sudo wp db export /home/DOMAIN/backup-$(date +%Y%m%d).sql --path=$WP --allow-root